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New traffic system coming to Ireland

In the run up to the next General Election, the Government has announced a new initiative to bring Ireland in line with our European partners.

The following is the essence of the announcement made this morning.

For centuries, Ireland has been the poor relation of England. We inherited their laws, their architecture, their language and their way of life.

We see ourselves now as an independent state that is more European than British. We have adopted the Euro as our currency. We have established Irish as an official language within the European Union. We have won the Eurovision Song Contest more times than anyone else. It is time for the next step.

We propose that from the 1st of July 2007, we will adopt the European standard of driving on the right hand side of the road.

This is a major initiative that will bring us in line with the rest of Europe, along with metrication. Furthermore, with the rate of immigration expected to increase, by the year 2010, the majority of the population will have originated in countries that drive on the right.

We already have the physical infrastructure in place. It is just a matter of public education.

Starting from the 1st of February, motorists will have a five month period in which to have their vehicles adapted to left hand drive. During this period, road signs and traffic lights will also be adapted. All new vehicles sold after this date will be configured for left hand drive.

Starting on the 1st of July, there will be a period of transition.

Period of transition

Initially, all buses and articulated vehicles will move to the right to allow for a period of adjustment. Car owners may opt to make the switch themselves on an individual basis, depending on their level of confidence.

Starting on the 1st of August, all motorists outside city limits will be required to drive on the right. And finally on the 1st September, all city traffic will make the transition.

It is appreciated that there will be some confusion initially, but death rates within the first year are expected to be below the 50,000 mark. This is a small price to pay for the estimated five lives a year that will be saved after the transition.

Some initial confusion

The Government is committed to reducing the appalling death rate on our roads, and to further harmonisation with our European neighbours.

A senator yesterday suggested Irish motorists should drive on the other side of the road to facilitate the huge influx of foreigners.

Not only that, but a lower speed limit of 80kmh should apply to immigrants.

However, the bizarre suggestion by the Fianna Fail leader of the Seanad, Donie Cassidy, came under fire last night.

The Automobile Association said the suggestion to switch from left to right was “totally unworkable” and made “absolutely no sense”.

Speaking in the Seanad yesterday during a debate on road safety, Mr Cassidy said that in time we could examine the possibility of changing and driving on the other side of the road.

He said that from a tourist point of view our biggest destinations were Europe and the US where they drove on the right-hand side of the road, so there were good reasons for considering a changeover.

He said that 10 to 15-year-old cars bought at auctions should not be allowed on the roads network and that immigrants were buying them up, as did Irish immigrants in England and the US in the 1950s and 1960s as they attempted to begin a new life.

Mr Cassidy said there should be a 80kmh limit (50mph) for anyone coming from another nation to live and work here, especially if they came from countries where they drove on the right-hand side of the road.

He called on the Road Safety Authority to carry out some research on the proposals.

However, the suggestions were dismissed as out of hand by road safety experts and motoring organisations.